Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights meeting, April 14, 2026
- When: Tue, Apr 14, 2026, 10:15 AM (Chicago time)
- Where: 201A, 2nd Floor, City Hall, 121 North LaSalle Street - Chicago, IL 60602
- Status: Scheduled & Published
- Committee: Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights
- Video: https://vimeo.com/showcase/8928487?video=1183165801
- Transcript: full text (16,162 words, official captions)
Meeting notes
AI-written from the transcript. Speakers are inferred from cues in the recording, so treat names as estimates and check the video at the linked time.
The Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights approved its March 2026 Rule 45 report and held a subject matter hearing, sponsored by Alderperson Matthew J. Martin, on city contracts with vendors that also hold federal immigration enforcement contracts and on police technology, data sharing and surveillance. Presenters from Just Futures Law and the ACLU of Illinois described ways federal immigration agencies can obtain local data, including direct sharing, law enforcement data networks, data brokers and surveillance technology vendors, and outlined policy options such as community control over police surveillance. The Executive Director of the Office of Public Safety Administration said city contracts include data privacy provisions barring vendors from sharing city data and that the city does not collect or share immigration status data. Members asked about vendor compliance monitoring, federal access to city cameras, data brokers, the Clearview AI settlement and debarment rules, and requested several follow-up lists and documents through the chair. No votes were taken on the subject matter item; the meeting was paused for a streaming outage and later adjourned.
Topics: police surveillance technology, data privacy, federal immigration enforcement, procurement and vendor contracts, data brokers, facial recognition, license plate readers, Clearview AI settlement, Rule 45 report
Agenda items discussed
- 1:37 Motion to allow virtual attendance under Rule 59: passed
- 1:55 Public comment
- 6:04 Approval of the March 2026 Rule 45 report: passed
- 6:18 Subject matter hearing on city contracts with vendors that also hold federal immigration contracts, police technology procurement and data sharing: discussed
Alderpersons who spoke
- Andre Vasquez Jr. (chair): Opened the hearing by describing reports of federal agents using data and surveillance systems and said the committee needs to know whether city technology is being used to expose residents to harm. (6:28); Noted his legislation asking Procurement to study contracts with vendors serving federal immigration enforcement and asked experts how to define federal immigration enforcement activities for that study. (39:34); Asked experts for examples of contract language from other municipalities that limits data use and addresses enforcement. (43:25)
- Matthew J. Martin (alderperson): Said residents have asked whether ICE, Border Patrol and DHS have access to data the city collects, including addresses, license plate numbers and surveillance camera footage. (8:36); Noted that the city does not contract with Flock to his knowledge but uses Vigilant Solutions, which was named in a report about sharing data with federal law enforcement. (10:21); Asked OPSA or Procurement to share an example of the city confidential data provision and whether it is standard language across contracts. (1:51:06)
- Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (alderperson): Asked the ACLU representative to explain what real-time crime centers are and whether he was saying the city should not have them. (46:54); Said residents in her ward have discussed Flock cameras and cited a reported case of license plate data being used to identify a woman who traveled for an abortion. (2:08:46); Expressed disappointment that these conversations are only beginning given ICE's long history, and said she looks forward to the city's AI roadmap and further discussion. (2:09:42)
- Felix Cardona Jr. (alderperson): Asked OPSA to explain the operational support provided between the city and federal law enforcement. (54:27); Asked for the names of vendors the city contracts with in this space. (55:12); Asked whether those vendors also contract with the federal government and who grants express permission for a vendor to share city data. (56:30)
- Anthony J. Quezada (alderperson): Asked whether the city sells data to data brokers that sell to federal agencies and whether the city has contracts with LexisNexis. (57:43); Asked whether federal agencies requested access to city video cameras over the past year. (58:20); Asked whether the city intends to re-evaluate its procurement process or contracts with data brokers and surveillance technology companies. (58:46)
- Michael D. Rodriguez (alderperson): Said the committee must stay on top of the issue and that residents' data and likeness should not be sold. (1:00:24); Asked the ACLU representative about the expiring settlement that bars a company from contracting in Illinois. (1:01:25); Asked what the Biometric Information Privacy Act is, at what level of government it sits, and its intent. (1:38:40)
- Jessica L. Fuentes (alderperson): Asked whether any city vendors have violated contract data privacy provisions, how that was found and what the repercussions were. (1:47:14); Asked the city to name vendors that also have contracts with ICE or Border Patrol. (1:47:39); Asked whether the city has revisited conversations with vendors such as Motorola since Operation Midway Blitz about not sharing data with federal agencies. (1:48:42)
Exchanges between members
- 8:19 The chair thanked Alderperson Matthew J. Martin for bringing the issue to the committee.
- 8:36 Alderperson Matthew J. Martin thanked the chair and his team for holding the hearing.
- 1:00:15 Alderperson Michael D. Rodriguez thanked the chair for holding the hearing.
- 1:00:15 Alderperson Michael D. Rodriguez thanked the sponsor of the hearing.
- 1:43:46 The chair thanked Alderperson Michael D. Rodriguez for his line of questioning before following up on it.
- 1:47:06 Alderperson Jessica L. Fuentes thanked Alderperson Matthew J. Martin for bringing the matter to committee.
- 2:08:40 Alderperson Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth thanked Alderperson Matthew J. Martin for bringing the hearing forward.
- 2:11:06 The chair thanked Alderperson Matthew J. Martin for bringing the issue to the committee's attention.